Sloppy Seconds / Dryrot / Darknes @ V.F.W. Hall Richmond, IN 10/27/1990

A great show that I missed in the small but amazing scene that is Richmond, Indiana. This is a small town right near Ohio that is just over an hour from Indianapolis, Dayton, Columbus and Cincinnati. The scene was great for quite a while thanks to bands like Dryrot and Kid With a Stick who brought fans of every genre together to see all age shows.

This show featured the Indy legends Sloppy Seconds who played raunchy Ramonesish songs with lyrics that lived up to their name. Dryrot were local favorites who always put on a great show and promoted the hell out of their local scene. I really don't recall who Darknes were.

The V.F.W. Hall was one of at least three places they had all ages shows, plus they had a great college radio station WECI at Earlham College.

Kaptain Karl's Wizbangs / Minus One @ Canal Street Tavern 12/19/1990

This was after the end of the Tooba Blooze and before they became known as simply The Wizbangs. Yep, it was all about Kaptain Karl. The Wizbangs featured Kaptain Karl and Deni Wilson (from Tooba Blooze) plus Tim Taylor and Juan Monasterio who went on to form Brainiac. I'm assuming it was one of their first shows, but I could be wrong on this point. The other band on the bill was Minus One one of Eric Purtle's many, many bands over the years. I can't recall who else was in the band, but I know they had a sound that was similar to Ministry, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult and others of their ilk.

Pleasures Pale / RedMath @ Gilly's 12/28/1986

I never really went to this show, I probably couldn't get in the door due to my age. I had been to Gilly's but that was due to one of my friends having a "connection". Anyway, I remember seeing these flyers everywhere so I grabbed one and kept it.

I had heard Pleasures Pale on WWSU and on the four song 7" the station had put out. I know nothing about Redmath except that I had seen several of their flyers, they were from Cincy and I think I read an article about them in Limited Potential zine. The first zine I had ever seen.

Liquid Draino @ Canal Street Tavern 7/19/1990

I really love this flyer for Liquid Draino. It was created for one of their battle of the bands shows. I don't recall who they played against, but I really didn't matter since I was there for Draino. I think caricature really captures Sheldon, Eric, Brian and Dave plus the neato red drums.

The show was of course at Canal Street Tavern, where they are still have their yearly battle of the bands to this day. I had forgotten that Draino was using the Cheep Beer Ltd. moniker just like the Oxy's.

Filth / Last Stand @ the Gutter Center 6/21/1991

This was a typical show at the Gutter Center, All ages, $3, free vegan / vegitarian meal and a few bands. The Gutter Center was a space in the Front Street building off of Dutiot Street. The collective had built a stage and a few other things in the space and had a bunch of great bands (primarily Anarchists) play.

The thing I remember most about this show was that my girlfriend had worn a white cape and after one of the bands we noticed a bunch of small blood droplets all over it. It had to have happened in the small but active pit, however we couldn't find anybody hurt. Odd. I recall Filth from Oakland playing and they were a quite popular crust-core band. I can't remember anything about Last Stand, but when I looked them up I found that they still are around today. Finally there is that 8Ball on the flyer. Was it a band? Was it something more? I really can't recall, anybody else have a clue?

The Highwaymen, The Obvious, M.O.M. @ Canal Street Tavern 1/9/1987

This show was one of the first I ever went to at Canal Street Tavern. I really don't recall much of it, but it has been 21 years now.

This was a pretty big show and only $3. The Highwaymen had an album out and were touring. Members later moved to Austin and became the highly acclaimed band Loose Diamonds. The Obvious were still in high school and playing out regularly. I don't recall much about M.O.M. other than the infamous frontman Dennis Schlichter, most likely I got to the show late and missed them all together.

If you want to know a bit more about M.O.M. click on the link above and it will take you to Patrick Jones' great blog about Dayton music circ 1987-1994.

The Killjoys / Life and Times / Nude Canoe @ Oregon Emporium 1/27/1990

A very different show and a great line-up. First off this was sponsored by the local "commercial rock" station and was held in what has been a thrift store in the Oregon District. The proceeds went to help out the homeless as well as the donations collected. I liked all three bands and had a great time at this very packed and well received show.

Of the three bands involved I knew the least about Nude Canoe who I think were still in high school or had just graduated. I don't recall much about their music, but I know they were fairly popular with the indie college crowd and high schoolers. Life and Times featured David Ponitz (now David Poe) and Morgan Taylor along with other members who I don't recall. They had a lighter alternative feel and could draw hoards of good looking girls to their shows. David & Morgan went on to front Glee & Beak before splitting off into other bands such as OO OO WA.

The final band on the bill was The Killjoys who later changed their name to the Raging Mantras. They were always one of my favorite bands in Dayton and put on great shows everytime they played. They consisted of front man Vocalist / Bassist Rob Schaefer, Guitarist / Vocalist Nick Kizirnis (The Obvious, Cage, The Mulchmen, Ohio Silver, Eyesinweasel, The Jet Age, Nicky Kay & the Kay-Tones), Keyboardist Ed Lacy and Drummer Jim MacPherson (The Breeders, Guided by Voices, Real Lulu, The Amps). As you can tell by the list of bands the ended up with there was a lot of talent in the group.

Citizen Fish / Cringer @ The New Space 4/11/1991

This show was put on by the Gutter Center Collective, but held at The New Space since the collective could only hold about 100 people. Like all Gutter Center shows there was an included Vegan meal and the price was low...this one was $4 partially due to the higher costs associated with having the show at New Space.

Citizen Fish was a great ska/punk band that formed from the remnants of the Sub-Humans. Actually, it seems that they have reformed so, you have a change to see them 15-20 years on. Cringer was a great punk-pop band from San Francisco which broke up later and had members join or create bands such as J-Church, The Grumps, Naked Aggression and others. Unfortunately the great Lance Hahn (Cringer / J-Church) passed away last year and will be sorely missed.

I recall this show fairly well and even found a few photos I took at it. It was packed, loud and sweaty with plenty of great music and good people. Definitely one of the top five shows I ever saw at the New Space.

Your Form of Government, I.O.U., @ the Building Lounge 7/11/1987

This show was from way back when I first started getting into the local music scene. I didn't go to this show, but I did get the flyer and had planned to show up. I know nothing about either of the bands, but I do recall the Building Lounge used to have some great shows back in the late 80's. It's on East Third St. and later started to have Jazz bands only. Still this brings back great memories when it was all so new and exciting for a sheltered kid from the burbs.

8-Bark / The Method / HUM / Second Step @ The New Space 11/9/1991

This was a pretty typical show for The New Space, four bands, five dollars and all ages. The New Space was on Springfield street and used to be part of a slaughterhouse. Thinking about it now it was also a firetrap, but that never really came to mind at the time.

8-Bark was a great band from Chicago that I remember fairly well as well as HUM who were from the Champaign / Urbana area. HUM went on to release a major label album You'd Prefer an Astronaut in 1995 which spawned the hit "Stars". There were also two local bands on the bill, The Method who were one of the more popular bands in the area and I can't recall anything about the sXe band Second Step.

The New Space was one of the many places that Ken Gross threw shows over the years. I think this location was the one that I went to the most often. Always a great, loud, sweaty time.

Lizard 99 @ PJ's 11/2/1989

This show took place during the short lived run of PJ's basement shows in the Oregon District. The site now houses the upscale restaurant Café Boulevard. From what I remember Lizard 99 was originally from the Youngstown area and had transplanted to Cinci in 1989. They put out an excellent release in 1990 called "Black Fantastic" then faded off into the mist.

Tammy used to run bar in the basement at PJ's and book shows from Thursday through Saturday. The cover was always $1 to get in and I'm pretty sure I ran door at this show. It was a great place while it lasted and featured many great local bands during its time.

The Oxymorons / J.I.M. @ Canal Street Tavern 5/16/1990

I don't recall a thing about this show or anything about the band J.I.M. I have to assume that at least my band (The Oxymorons) played, since we made the flyer and our name is on it. After looking up the date I found out that it happened in 1990 and for some reason we used pink paper instead of our usual obnoxious green. Not one of our best flyers, but interesting nonetheless.

The show was at Canal Street Tavern, which is the longest running place for local bands to play. With a great diverse crowd and band to go with them, this is the place to go.

Flyers

In the next few months we will be posting old flyers from the Dayton area and beyond along with any back stories we know about the show, the bands, the promoters or the venue. We might start taking in contributions, but that remains to be seen. Hopefully some of these will bring back memories for you. Feel free to leave comments and fill in missing info. We'll try to post one flyer a day.

The ChickenFish Speaks